Students at the University of Kent can now practice and play on one of the world’s finest basketball courts after learning a lesson from stars of America’s popular NBA.
Kent is the first UK university to have an MFMA PUR certified and EN14904 compliant Robbins solid maple wood floor installed by its UK-based partner TVS Group.
Choice of supplier
Robbins, which was founded in 1894, is a preferred supplier of competition and training surfaces to a significant number of teams in the billion-dollar NBA – 22 of the last 27 NBA Championships were won by teams who play and train on Robbins courts.
“After around two decades of use as a multi-sport facility, the university’s old court was badly in need of an upgrade,” explained TVS sports surfacing specialist, Jason Lewis-Lamb. “A survey revealed issues with the sub-floor which had caused failures in the existing floor and needed to be rectified prior to the installation of the new court.”
The TVS/Robbins partnership was chosen after an exhaustive evaluation by the university, with quality and longevity being major factors in the final decision, along with the need to meet stringent international and UK sports standards.
The new court is expected to last 50-75 years, with benefits including the reduction of injuries and player fatigue through the Robbins maximum vibration protection patented system.
The sub-structure work and the new flooring installation, using northern hard maple from the USA and Canada, was completed by TVS Group within six working weeks.
As well as basketball, TVS added markings for netball and badminton to ensure the new court could continue to be used as a multi-sport facility.
Raising standards
Double Olympian Mel Clewlow, director of sport at the university, said: “To be the first in the UK to install this system is an honour. Too often as a university we’re looking enviously at our competitors’ facilities. Hopefully this time they’re looking at us!
“Installing this flooring shows the university’s commitment to its students and to providing the best facilities we can. We’ve already received fantastic feedback from them, as well as interest from local clubs.
“I can’t thank TVS Group and Robbins enough for trusting us to showcase this product. Throughout this entire process TVS has been world-class and its customer service from start to finish has been exemplary.”
